TedEd-19

Why Does Your Voice Change
As You Get Older?
You Get Older?

In the mid-16th century, Italians were captivated by a type of male singer whose incredible range
contained notes previously thought impossible for adult men. However, this gift came at a highprice. To prevent their voices from breaking, these singers had been castrated before puberty,
halting the hormonal processes that would deepen their voices. Known as castrati, their light,
angelic voices were renowned throughout Europe, until the cruel procedure that created them wasoutlawed in the 1800s. Though stunting vocal growth can produce an extraordinary musical range,
naturally developing voices are already capable of incredible variety. And as we age, our bodies
undergo two major changes which explore that range.
So how exactly does our voice box work, and what causes these shifts in speech?

TedEd-19

Why Does Your Voice Change As
You Get Older?

The specific sound of a speaking voice is the result of many anatomical variables, but it’s mostly
determined by the age and health of our vocal cords and the size of our larynxes. The larynx is acomplex system of muscle and cartilage that supports and moves the vocal cords, or, as they’remore accurately known, the vocal folds. Strung between the thyroid and arytenoid cartilages, thesetwo muscles form an elastic curtain that opens and shuts across the trachea, the tube that carries
air through the throat. The folds are apart when we’re breathing, but when we speak, they slamshut. Our lungs push air against the closed folds, blowing them open and vibrating the tissue toproduce sound. Unlike the deliberate focus required for playing an external instrument, weeffortlessly change notes as we speak. By pushing air faster or slower, we change the frequency
and amplitude of these vibrations, which respectively translate to the pitch and volume of our voices.
Rapid and small vibrations create high-pitched, quiet tones, while slow, large vibrations produce
deep, bellowing rumbles. Finally, by moving the laryngeal muscles between the cartilages, we canstretch and contract those folds to intuitively play our internal instruments. This process is the samefrom your first words to your last, but as you age, your larynx ages too.
During puberty, the first major shift starts, as your voice begins to deepen. This happens when yourlarynx grows in size, elongating the vocal folds and opening up more room for them to vibrate.
These longer folds have slower, larger vibrations, which result in a lower baseline pitch. This growthis especially dramatic in many males, whose high testosterone levels lead first to voice cracks, andthen to deeper, more booming voices, and laryngeal protrusions called Adam’s apples. Anothervocal development during puberty occurs when the homogenous tissue covering the folds
specializes into three distinct functional layers: a central muscle, a layer of stiff collagen wrapped instretchy elastin fibers, and an outer layer of mucus membrane. These layers add nuance and depth
to the voice, giving it a distinct timbre that sets it apart from its pre-pubescent tones.

TedED-19

Why Does Your Voice Change AsYou Get Older?

After puberty, most people’s voices remain more or less the same for about 50 years. But we all use
our voices differently, and eventually we experience the symptoms associated with aging larynxes,
known as presbyphonia. First, the collagen in our folds stiffens and the surrounding elastin fibers
atrophy and decay. This decreased flexibility increases the pitch of older voices. But for people whohave experienced the hormonal effects of menopause, the higher pitch is countered and outweighedby swollen vocal folds. The folds' increased mass slows their vibrations, resulting in deeper voices.
All these symptoms are further complicated by having fewer healthy laryngeal nerve endings, which
reduces precise muscle control and causes breathy or rough voices.
Ultimately, these anatomical changes are just a few of the factors that can affect your voice. But
when kept in good condition, your voice box is a finely tuned instrument, capable of operatic arias,
moody monologues, and stirring speeches.